Kill The Elevator Speech
In a recent article for American Express Open Forum I revealed my (not-so-secret) mission to kill the elevator speech.
In or out. Pick a team. You’re either with me or against me on this one. Which is it going to be?
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Absolutely with you, Michael.
Authenticity goes out of the window with that 30 second piece of garbage, the speciality of outmoded networking philosophy!
I’m not sure it should *totally* go. For example, when writing a presentation it’s a useful exercise. If you can’t define your elevator speech, you can’t dedighn a good presentation. (Sadly the reverse is not necessarily true).
S
Michael,
Michael, I am a big fan of yours and I great fan of your work. That said I disagree with the philosophy of “kill the elevator speech. I think the speech serves a very specific and needed purpose. A quick, concise, well thought out, illustration of what you do and how it serves the market place. That’s what an elevator speech is supposed to be, and it serves an important function.
Do I know people who need this persons services? Do I understand what this person does so that I can use the service or possibly refer the service to others? A quality elevator speech helps me to answer that question. Of course a poor elevator speech gets in the way of this.
Obviously a conversation with diologue is superior then a monologue speech, but the speech still has its role in marketing oneself in my opinion.
I’m all for setting the guidelines that the elevator speech is not intended to sell anybody anything in 30 seconds. Let’s change that headline to “Kill the inauthentic, disingeniune,canned sounding, overdone, just like everybody elses, generic, stale, and arrogant elevator speeches.”
My 2 cents
Can we take aim at the mission statement next?
Michael,
I’m with you. Here’s a piece I wrote on the subject about 3 years ago.
http://mindshareconsulting.com/wordpress/trouble-elevator-speeches/
Michael
Yes. I completely agree with you on this philosophy of killing the elevator pitch! As you said, the elevator pitch with investors is the only place where having a 30 second scripted monologue works in your favor. Pitching to investors requires giving a professional presentation about your biz, so you can explain who you are, what you do, results you plan on achieving and how much money you are looking for in a succinct and efficient manner. Investors don’t want to waste their time or money on anything, so being as polished as possible and having your 30 second speech down not only shows respect and appreciation, but is smart business.
Now, when you are speaking with people one on one, the conversation needs to flow organically in order to establish a rapport. If you are spewing off your monologue about who you and what you do, you can’t engage with your listener. Communication in this type of scripted scenario becomes one sided and awkward and authenticity is reduced. More often than not, this type of communication will result in short and uncomfortable conversations that don’t produce any rewards for anyone involved.
Here is what really got me in this article… calling up a few friends and running through several dialogues about what you do is a brilliant practice. If you do this, when you are finally put into a situation with someone who you have never met, you will have had several previous conversations about who you are and what you do, so you won’t need to script out what to say. You will feel confident in your message, fully engaged and in the moment with your contact- making the dialogue much more effective and likely to establish a relationship. Great tip!
Thanks for breaking the mold and calling this one out! So, guess this means I’m on Team Michael.
Hey Britt,
Great to have you on Team Michael. Our motto: We Always Win!
But seriously, you hit the nail on the head. The elevator speech was, and still is, primarily intended to pitch venture capital or non-profits for funding, not really for the service business owner. Somehow it got carried over and over-used.
In chapter 3 of Book Yourself Solid, I discuss the use of a “Who and Do What” statement. Simply being able to state who you serve (your target market) and what you help them do (or get).
For example, I help small business owners get more clients. Nothing fancy about it. Simple. Clear and void of hyperbole. It’s not sexy, but it’s not intended to be. When service business owners try to get fancy with their “Who and Do What” statement it turns into a “commercial” full of hype and rhetoric. That’s why it blows up — and not in a good way.
mp